Old Believers - Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization.
While the Old Believers are scrupulous in paying taxes and strive to
obey laws, they are not interested in becoming involved in local or
regional affairs. Many seek U.S. citizenship out of a sense of respect
and a desire to belong. Citizenship also allows them easier travel to
overseas kin and the ability to register commercial equipment, such as
fishing boats. Children attend public school but rarely finish. Only a
few have chosen to go on to higher education.

Political Organization.
The congregation of the prayer hall or church remains the central focus
of community Organization. The lay leader (
nastavnik
or
nastoiatel'
) and his assistants are chosen by unanimous consent of the
congregation. Leaders from all the congregations counsel on larger
questions that affect the overall Old Believer community.

Social Control.
Improper social behavior automatically violates one religious sanction
or another. The violator is "separated" from the
congregation and must ask forgiveness to Return. This entails a penance
and a forty-day period of purification to rejoin "in
union." A person not in union is prohibited from eating or
praying with those in union. Unrepentant or serious violators can be
excommunicated. At death, those not in union are buried in the Old
Believers cemetery separately from those in union. In recent cases where
the religious sanctions were slow or ineffective, Individuals turned to
the agencies of the host society for more immediate help.